Goal
by AnonymousBuono
Summary: By the time high school graduation rolls around, Amu, Tadase, Rima, and Nagihiko had lost sight of their goals, becoming less like their true selves in the process. Amu, however, makes a promise to stay true to herself from now on, and that she would try and get everyone back on track to their goal. It was the least she could do for Ran.


Setting: Six years after the conclusion of the anime.

Characters: Amu Hinamori

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 **Buono!Buono!** : _Goal (ゴール)_

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Amu Hinamori sat among the rest of her classmates at her high school graduation, tuning out the speeches being made. Dia floated just above her shoulder.

Su had returned to her heart at the end of her third and final year of middle school, when she could finally clean and cook and become feminine.

Miki had returned to her heart in the middle of her first year of high school, when she'd gotten more involved with the arts at school.

Ran had, unfortunately, faded away at the beginning of her third and final year of high school. Amu bit her lip and clenched her fists in worry as she recalled the events that lead up to Ran's disappearance. It was her one regret, not being able to become more cheerful as a person.

She looked over to her right, and spotted Tadase Hotori sitting a few seats over. Everyone had expected him to be the one standing up there now, giving the speech as the representative of the graduating class. But there he was, holding his head in his hands as if he had a migraine. Kiseki was nowhere to be seen. Amu's heart clenched for him.

She looked over in front of her, and was not surprised to see that Nagihiko Fujisaki was not there. He'd left years ago, disappearing at the beginning of his first year of high school. Amu had no idea where he was now, or what became of Temari or Rhythm. A gut feeling, however, told her that Nagihiko had chosen one, and the other had faded away into nothing. It was a horrible thought, and Amu sincerely hoped that he was alright.

She didn't have to look behind her, however, to see that Rima was also not there. She'd dropped out. Rima could have become a prostitute or something, and Amu would've never known. The former queen's chair had tried _so hard_ to get along with Kusukusu, to achieve her dream of making people smile. Somehow, though, everything had backfired on her all at once, and then, just like that, she'd dropped out of school. Amu had to fight back tears as she thought of her old friend.

How had things come to this? What happened?

The voice of Saaya Yamabuki projected across the auditorium as she gave her speech as top of the class, "It was just like how our alumni Airi Suzuki-san said! 'You'll only become more lonely if you only strive for the tangible things'!"

Amu mulled over the one line of Saaya's speech that she'd bothered listening to.

It was, in many ways, exactly what had happened to the former Guardians, as if they'd gotten so caught up in their daily lives that they'd forgotten to appreciate the little things, like the flowers.

Where were they headed now, if they'd become so obsessed with being their true selves, that they'd become even less like themselves? The repercussions were playing out now, in an auditorium where only two of the former Guardians of their class were even present for graduation.

Amu felt lost, especially without Ran's optimism, but she held on to what Miki and Su taught her. She wanted to be sure of herself. If she couldn't pull through as the holder of the Humpty Lock, Tadase and the others would have no hope of pulling through.

Amu took the fact that Dia still floated beside her as a sign that the dreams that each of them had as kids were still buried deep in their hearts somewhere. It was just a matter of finding it, and Amu knew that it would be up to her to do so.

But still, many insecurities hammered at her, especially now that she was graduating from high school. It was moments like these where Amu desperately wanted to ask her future self if she was walking on the right road, towards the right sky. Because Amu certainly wasn't sure at all of where she was headed.

But she had to keep going. They were only partway through their journey. The road ahead of high school may be foggy, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't eventually arrive at where she was meant to be.

It was the same for the others, they just didn't know it. But, Amu had to try, for them. She resolved to maintain the confidence that she didn't have now that Ran was gone, and resolved to help the others through their own journeys. If they wouldn't look to see that Amu and Dia would be there for them, she resolved to jump up and down and scream it to them if she had to.

Yes, their journey would continue, Amu would make sure of it, even if she had to slap sense into herself. She thought back to their days in elementary school as the Guardians, and how they'd been so full of hope back then. Didn't they make a promise back then to become true to themselves?

What use was becoming their true selves if they weren't true to themselves as they were doing so?

This was something that Amu had only just realized.

But, it was too late to change the past now. They could only change the future, and change it she would.

Amu made a promise to herself right then and there in the auditorium as they began to call the names of the students to receive diplomas.

They would make it through the reckless times, embracing both their strengths and their weaknesses. If they fell, Amu would try to get everyone back on their feet walking on the road again. Amu would fix everything, starting with her own life. All she needed to do was get started.

It didn't matter if they still couldn't see their goal. They just had to get there.

It was the least she could do for Ran.


End file.
